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Tropical Storm Hilary Leaves Souther California In Shambles; Ukraine Looks Ahead To Future F-16s Deliveries; U.K. Nurse Gets Life Sentence For Killing Seven Babies; Spanish Soccer Team Spologizes For Unwanted Kiss; Chinese President Arrives in South Africa for Summit; Thailand's Parliament to Vote on New Prime Minister; Hundreds of Ethiopian Migrants Killed by Saudi Border Guards. Aired 12-12:45a ET

Aired August 22, 2023 - 00:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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[00:01:43]

LAILA HARRAK, CNN ANCHOR: Hello everyone, I'm Laila Harrak. Ahead on CNN NEWSROOM. The cost of climate change Hurricane Hilary and the Maui wildfires are expected -- are expected to be the latest in a surge of billion-dollar natural disasters.

Plus, life in prison for a British nurse convicted of murdering seven newborn babies and attempting to kill six more.

And an unwanted kiss on the lips threatens to overshadow Spain's victory at the Women's World Cup.

ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Laila Harrak.

HARRAK: U.S. President Joe Biden is promising government support for Hawaii for as long as it takes after witnessing firsthand the devastation left behind by this month's deadly wildfires. He and First Lady Jill Biden toured the affected areas in Maui on Monday, including the historic town of Lahaina and met with first responders and survivors.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I know the feeling that as many of the people in this town, this community, that hollow feeling you have in your chest like you're being sucked into a black hole, wondering, will I ever -- will I ever get by this?

But I also want all of you to know the country grieves with you, stands with you, and we'll do everything possible to help you recover, rebuild, and respect culture and traditions when the rebuilding takes place

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRAK: At least 115 people have been killed and more than 800 are still unaccounted for following the deadliest wildfire in the U.S. in more than a hundred years.

And parts of the southwestern United States are also facing a lengthy recovery after Tropical Storm Hilary. It's weakened to a post tropical cyclone as it moves inland but it's dumped historic amounts of rainfall in California and the threats of dangerous flooding remains.

CNN's Kyung Lah looks at the damage reporting from San Diego.

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KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): To understand Hilary's wrath on Southern California, watch how even first responders, the San Bernardino firefighters were caught in the middle of a disaster.

Across Southern California, Hilary walloped residents, the mud and water was so thick, a bulldozer had to lift these stranded Palm Springs residents to safety.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We set up sandbags over the weekend thinking that would be sufficient but it blew right through them.

LAH (voice over): As a once in a lifetime tropical storm flooded cities, mountains and deserts, collapsing summer records across the entire region.

CHIEF MICHAEL CONTRERAS, CATHEDRAL CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT: There's a lot of destruction, right? And Mother Nature clearly put her mark on us over the last 48 hours.

LAH (voice over): Hilary made landfall as a tropical storm in Mexico early Sunday, slamming into the Baja Peninsula. California braced for impact.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're not built for this kind of rainfall. That's my main concern.

[00:05:03]

LAH (voice over): In one day, San Diego got 10 times more rain than what it typically sees all summer and across the region, roads began to buckle.

As Hilary moved northwest into Nevada, the destruction continue. This is a road turned into a raging river.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I couldn't describe it, I never seen like that. So, the amount of water we got last night it's huge.

LAH (voice over): And as if water from above were not enough, the ground in California shook, a 5.1 earthquake struck Epicenter Ojai, an hour north of Los Angeles.

CAPTAIN BRIAN MCGRATH, VENTURA COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT: I wouldn't say complicated efforts but it definitely opened her eyes to that anything can happen at any time. LAH: And there's still spotty flooding in certain parts of southern

California. Here in San Diego, this may look like this is a canal or a small river. But this is actually a road, you can see that there's a 15 foot clearance, about half of that is under water and the water was actually higher all the way up to the concrete wall on either side.

So, this may take a few days for parts of southern California to get completely dry and dig out.

Kyung Lah, CNN, San Diego.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRAK: Hurricane Hilary and the Maui wildfires are just the latest natural disasters expected to cause billions of dollars in damage in the United States. And a recent study from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration finds the total number of billion dollar disasters is on the rise are on pace rather to break a record this year.

For more, we're joined by NOAA's chief scientist, Dr. Sarah Kapnick. Doctor, so good to have you with us. What is the most salient finding of this study?

DR. SARAH KAPNICK, CHIEF SCIENTIST, NOAA: Yes, for the first seven months of 2023, we've had 15 individual weather climate disasters, totally at least $1 billion each, that is the highest first seven months of the year that we've ever seen since we started making these calculations since 1980.

HARRAK: Now, obviously, these are huge numbers. And you know, we've seen success of natural disasters unfold. From a financial perspective, is this a sustainable situation? I mean, do local authorities and federal governments have a specific funding in place to deal with these billion dollar disasters?

KAPNICK: People have been used to the number of disasters they've had in the past. And then however, this has been growing. The magnitude of events, the probabilities, the events are growing, but also the punch that they're packing when they unfold, the financial cost has been growing, and the total number.

And so, people are starting to prepare for these being higher numbers, but it hasn't -- they're not fully ready at the moment. And we're trying to give them all the information to plan for those changes.

HARRAK: To plan for them. Because ultimately, obviously, someone gets the bill. Would raising taxes to refund these reconstructions and managing these natural disasters be one option?

KAPNICK: Right now, there are no plans on individual disasters that have taken place. So, that is a change in how things would be done.

So far, it has been responding as they occur. And currently, we're in an El Nino year, it's a hot -- it's a hot year, there's going to continue to warm as the El Nino unfolds. And it's typically a year where we see a lot of these extreme events occur.

HARRAK: So, what viable solutions are there? I mean, financing adaptation or financing more aggressively energy transition?

KAPNICK: So, it's a mixture of both. There's 99.5 percent of all climate finance to date has been on mitigation alone. But there needs to be more on adaptation.

We're seeing with these events that occur that caused these financial impacts, as you mentioned, and the way to reduce those impacts to build in adaptation, building resilience plans to reduce how those extreme events make that financial impact.

And through building adaptation plans, through smart infrastructure, through how we change the building codes in our buildings. That is the only way that we can reduce the financial impact over time of these events by planning for them.

It also requires mitigating, we can't just adapt, we also need to mitigate future emissions because the probabilities and magnitudes of these events will only grow with every additional ton of emissions that are going into our atmosphere.

HARRAK: Right, NOAA's Chief Scientist Sarah Kapnick. Thank you so much for speaking to us.

KAPNICK: Thank you.

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HARRAK: Officials in Japan now say they'll begin releasing treated radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the ocean as early as Thursday. While this comes despite pushback from neighboring countries amid heightened public concern, especially among those in the fishing industry. The head of Japan's fisheries association says while the group has a better understanding of the government's plan, it still opposes the move to release the treated wastewater.

North Korea says the possibility of thermonuclear war is rising, as South Korea and the U.S. carry out their annual joint military exercises. State media said Pyongyang would punish hostile forces and was waiting for the right time to strike. North Korea also condemned the summit last week between leaders of the U.S., South Korea and Japan at Camp David.

Ukraine appears to be stepping up drone attacks in the Russian territory if Moscow's claims are true. Russian defense officials say they destroyed four Ukrainian drones on Tuesday, two of them flying over the Moscow region.

For its part, Ukrainian officials say they carried out a successful attack on a Russian military base on Monday claiming one of its drones damaged at least one aircraft.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's president is meeting with Balkan leaders in Greece. Volodymyr Zelenskyy saying Greece will help train Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets. And the sooner they're trained, the sooner the jets can join the counter offensive. Fred Pleitgen brings us the latest.

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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): As Kyiv's offensive grinds on, with only modest gains, Ukraine's president already taking a seat in the next major weapons platform his country is set to receive. Two key U.S. allies, Denmark and the Netherlands confirming they will give Ukraine American made F- 16 combat aircraft.

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: Today we are confident that Russia will lose this war.

Together, we proved that life is a value, that people matter, freedom matters, Europe matters.

PLEITGEN (voice over): The Biden administration already signaling it will approve the F-16 transfer to Ukraine once training is complete. Denmark and the Netherlands could give Ukraine dozens of aircraft.

METTE FREDERIKSEN, DANISH PRIME MINISTER: Together with the Netherlands, we are the first country to make a solid and concrete commitment to donate Western fighter jets. And hopefully, others will follow now.

PLEITGEN (voice over): The Ukrainian say a severe lack of air power is stalling their counter offensive. Ukraine's old leagues can't compete with Russia's modern Su-35 fighter jets and their powerful radars. That allows the Russians to easily target Ukrainian ground forces leading to heavy losses.

While Ukraine probably won't have the F-16s until early next year, Kyiv believes they will stop Russian jets from attacking Ukraine's troops.

YURII IHNAT, UKRAINIAN AIR FORCE SPOKESMAN (through translator): They will not be able to do this with the F-16's present, as superiority is the key to success on the ground.

PLEITGEN (voice over): But on the ground, Moscow's forces are putting up a tough fight both in the south of Ukraine and in the east.

Russian President Vladimir Putin visiting the main headquarters in southern Russia this weekend to get battlefield updates as Russians are increasingly feeling the war come to them.

These people on the Russian side of the border with Ukraine complaining to Putin about shelling from Ukraine, which Putin's army so far seems unable to stop.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Give us the opportunity to receive compensation. We want to move away from here, it is impossible to live here. PLEITGEN (voice over): And Ukraine is vowing to continue its fight trying to push the Russians back hoping in several months, modern Western jets could be a game changer.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Berlin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRAK: Britain's most prolific child serial killer in recent times will spend the rest of her life behind bars. Lucy Letby was sentenced on Monday to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The nurse was found guilty of murdering seven babies and trying to kill six more. Sangita Lal reports.

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SANGITA LAL, JOURNALIST (voice over): Lucy Letby arrived in Court to face her crimes, but she wouldn't face her victim's families. The 33- year-old child murderer refused to leave her cell and refused to listen to the families who bravely described what she took from them.

[00:15:13]

The mother of Letby's first victim, a twin boy who she murdered in June 2015 said never could we have imagined that the most precious things in our lives would be placed in such harm in the care of a nurse.

Another mother of a girl born prematurely also spoke, Letby killed her child when she was two days old by injecting air into her veins. She described what Letby took from her family, clutching a small teddy in her hands. She said her daughter's ashes were buried in a tiny box on her actual due date. She said my arms, my heart, my life felt so painfully empty.

And the mother of a baby boy who Letby murdered shared how she felt when she first saw her child, it was like nothing I'd experienced before, the way he smelled, my tiny firstborn son.

She went on to say how she will never forget the touch of his hand, and how every day she used to wear his hand and footprints in a necklace, until she heard Lucy Letby had been arrested, because it was Letby, who took the prints.

LAL: For years, she couldn't wear this memory of her son, until now, now that she has justice for her child.

LAL (voice over): Letby always denied every charge she faced. Instead, she claimed she was bullied by doctors and used it as a scapegoat for poor care on the unit.

In a trial that lasted 10 months, it took the jury more than 110 hours to reach their verdicts. She is guilty of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder six others in what the judge described as cruel, calculated and cynical attacks. For sentencing, he addressed the court as if she was in the dock. JAMES GOSS, JUDGE: You acted in a way that was completely contrary to the normal human instincts of nurturing and caring for babies. And in gross breach of the trust that all citizens placed in those who work in the medical and caring professions.

LAL (voice over): The parents of twin boys say they can in some ways now move on, Letby attempted to murder one of their sons by poisoning them with insulin and his brother by injecting him with air.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It provides a bit of closure. Not completely, but at least a bit of closure that they've got the right person and she's going to be punished for it. But it's not going to do justice no matter what. She has taken lives. She's tried to take other babies lives. So, whatever sentence she gets is not going to be enough.

LAL (voice over): Today was for some parents the first time they shared how they felt in hospital along these corridors when their babies were attacked. One mother described how she walked in on Letby murdering her son, but left him alone with her because she was a nurse and she trusted her. She and others shared how they now live with their own guilt and how they are traumatized that the person they trusted to care for their babies betrayed them in the most brutal way. But she used her position to manipulate everyone around her so she could carry out her sadistic and malevolent acts.

Escorted from court, Letby will never leave prison, now serving a whole life sentence. A serial killer who deliberately inflicted pain on the most vulnerable babies.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRAK: Sangita Lal with that report.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has condemned Letby for failing to appear in court for her sentencing.

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RISHI SUNAK, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I think it's cowardly that people who commit such horrendous crimes do not face the victims and hear firsthand the impact that their crimes have had on them and their families and loved ones. And we are looking and have been at changing the law to make sure that that happens.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRAK: Prime Minister Sunak says an independent inquiry will be held into the circumstances behind the murders.

Still to come, space soccer chief apologizing for giving a star player on the Women's World Cup team an unwanted kiss on the lips. More on the controversy, ahead.

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[00:21:45] HARRAK: The Spanish team celebrated in Madrid after winning the nation's first Women's World Cup Championship in Australia. Throngs of cheering supporters crowded the streets to welcome them home.

But Spain's historic victory was somewhat tarnished by controversy after the country's soccer chief kissed star player Jennifer Hermoso on the lips during the medal ceremony. Video shows Luis Rubiales embracing Hermoso, then putting both hands on her head before kissing her. He then pats her on the back as she walks away.

Rubiales is facing widespread criticism for the incidents with politicians and fans labeling his behavior unacceptable. He apologized Monday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LUIS RUBIALES, PRESIDENT, ROYAL SPANISH FOOTBALL FEDERATION (through translator): I surely made a mistake. I have to recognize that. Well, in a moment of elation without any intention of bad faith, what happened happened. I think in a very spontaneous way.

I repeat, there is no bad faith between either of the two of us.

But outside of the bubble, it looks like it has turned into a storm. And so, if there are people who have felt offended, I have to say, I'm sorry, there's no other way, right?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRAK: Well, after the kiss, Hermoso said she "didn't like it". According to video posted on social media by media outlets. Although she later downplayed the incident saying, "It was because of the emotion of the moment".

For more, we're joined by CNN Sports Analyst Christine Brennan. Christine, I mean, all we should be talking about is the incredible achievement of Pachuca (PH) team Spain. And you know, we don't want to take away from their performances, but somehow, Spain's FA President managed to upstage what should be a moment of celebration?

CHRISTINE BRENNAN, CNN SPORTS ANALYST: Absolutely, Laila, and he upstaged it with what some and many might call actual sexual abuse. A sexual assault, where at the very least, as one of the Spanish government ministers said, could be called sexual violence.

And obviously, the forced kiss that I think now pretty much everyone knows that Luis Rubiales did with, of course, one of the great stars of the Spanish team, Jenni Hermoso. And as she said right afterwards that she did not like that.

And so, the thought that this would occur on that world stage, the world is watching. And he did it then, if he's willing to do that in front of everyone in the cameras, as the whole planet is focused on that stadium in that moment in Spain with its great victory, just 30 minutes after that the final whistle blow, then what in the world are these people doing behind the scenes? And of course, the answer is we know from 11 months ago that they are

-- there are allegations of serious concerns about coaching techniques, training, health and welfare of the athletes. And this just, I think, points out to everyone that those stories are real, and those allegations are a big concern, because here you see this in front of the world, shocking, it's awful, it's unacceptable, just terrible and -- but they did it and he did it. And he felt he could do it, which is really something to behold. But truly, I think a statement on where soccer is the misogynistic and sexist nature of the sport.

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HARRAK: Now, Christina, in the meantime, he has since apologized, but it's not the first time that FA Chief Rubiales has been mired in controversy.

BRENNAN: Well, that's correct. And really, the last -- the last year, this team, if you've been following the Spanish women's team as it is gearing up for the World Cup, you know that there has been as you said, real controversy. 15 players back in September that issued and sent these letters, e-mailed letters, personal letters to the Federation saying, that they had real concerns with what was going on with the coaching staff.

And Jorge Vilda and wanting to see major change. And instead of listening to their players, which is something by the way U.S. soccer certainly has listened to its players over the years, other countries and other nations as you know, have listened to their players. It's called empowering women, listening to women, believing women and respecting women.

Instead of doing that, Spain did the exact opposite. They told the woman basically to go jump in the lake and 12 of those 15 players were not on the World Cup team, only three made the squad that went to the World Cup.

HARRAK: In light of these controversies, Christine, what does winning the World Cup now represents for these top professional athletes?

BRENNAN: Well, certainly for the Spanish, the players they should be very proud. I mean, the ones who played it's not their fault. And they of course show themselves to be the greatest in the world.

And when they were playing as you know from watching, you saw many people watched, it was so beautiful, it was just majestic the way they were playing as if the ball was attached on the string between all the teammates' feet as they just control the play and control the game against England and England is an excellent team.

And so, yes, what they -- there's more money to be made now, not equal pay, about one-fourth, $1.00 for every for the men made in Qatar and about six, eight, 10 months ago now. But it's better, it's better. But it's still not good enough, obviously.

But women's sport with soccer is certainly in a better place than it's ever been before. The sad fact is here we're talking about this as opposed to the great play of Spain on the field. And that is all all the fault of the Spanish Federation and its precedent.

HARRAK: What an incredible achievement by team Spain. Christine Brennan, thank you so much.

BRENNAN: My pleasure, Laila. Thank you.

HARRAK: Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in Johannesburg on his first trip to Africa in five years.

Coming up, we'll have a live report on what he hopes to accomplish at the BRICS summit.

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HARRAK: The 15th annual BRICS Summit of major emerging nations is underway in South Africa.

[00:30:14]

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived early Monday, his first visit to Africa in five years. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa greeted him on the tarmac.

The summit is a chance for Mr. Xi to try to extend China's influence in the global South as a response to Beijing's increasing rivalry with the United States.

CNN Beijing bureau chief Steven Jiang joins us now with more on what President Xi hopes to accomplish at the summit.

So good to have you with us, Steven. What can China get out of BRICS?

STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: Well, Laila, you know, this is only Xi Jinping's second international trip after the pandemic, and it really shows you how much importance China attaches to this grouping.

Now, remember, this BRICS Summit, five members with vastly different political economic models, somehow they came together because of their shared desire, as some would say, grievances against the current global order, led and dominated by the United States and its allies.

So there is just genuine desire to really expand the influence by, potentially, for example, discussing new members into this grouping, to have the global South, as you mentioned, to have more say on international affairs.

That, of course, is also beneficial to Xi Jinping and China because of China's leadership role in this grouping. So we have seen Chinese officials and state media drumming up this narrative of the growing importance of the BRICS grouping to counter what they describe as the U.S. policy of unilateral sanctions and long-armed jurisdictions.

But Xi Jinping's trip comes at a tricky time for him at home with the economy here, the rebound after the COVID really not doing nearly as well as officials had hoped for. You have a deepening real estate crisis and burgeoning local government debts, not to mention inflationary pressure and, of course, youth unemployment hitting historic highs several months in a row, so bad that the government here has stopped releasing data on this front.

So Xi Jinping is facing more constraint when it comes to what kind of projects China is able to finance and invest across the global South, but especially on the African continent.

But of course, experts say the Beijing leadership may be now adopting a so-called low cost, high impact strategy of improving party-to-party relations to tout China's power structure here, but also having more African military officers come here to be trained in China.

Not to mention soft power. The Chinese central television network, for example, just launched a -- the second season of a TV show called the classics, quoted by Xi Jinping across Africa.

Laila, I'm sure officials here hope that's going to be a huge hit in Africa -- Laila.

HARRAK: All right. We shall see. Steven Jiang in Beijing, thank you so much.

And we're following developments in Thailand, where Parliament is set to vote on a new prime minister. The populist Pheu Thai Party, which finished second in May's elections, has taken the reins to form a new government, while the Move Forward Party, which actually won the election, has been pushed aside by Thailand's conservative establishment.

Well, this comes as the country's controversial ex-prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, has returned home after 15 years of self-imposed exile, to face arrest and criminal convictions.

And CNN's Paula Hancocks is following all these developments for you from Seoul. Paula, if Pheu Thai managed to form a government, what might that mean for Thaksin Shinawatra? How would it affect him?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Laila, Pheu Thai is a party that is backed by Thaksin Shinawatra, so it can only be a positive development, you'd imagine, for him.

And also, Srettha Thavisin, who is the candidate that Pheu Thai is putting forward as -- as potential prime minister, which will be voted on later this Monday, is also a confidant of Thaksin, as well.

So certainly, what we have seen in recent months is that Thaksin has said a number of times he was going to come back to Thailand and -- and face charges, which had been brought against him while he was in self-exile. He says they are politically motivated.

But what he has done is he has delayed and delayed this date. And now he is coming back on the very day that the -- that the government will be deciding and voting on that new prime minister. Now, when it comes to the political side of this, we do know that Pheu

Thai just on Monday announced that it was going to form an alliance of 11 parties.

Now, remember, Pheu Thai didn't win the election. They didn't win the most votes. That was the progressive Move Forward Party that was unable to form a government and nominate their prime minister, as the royal loyalist conservative parties actually blocked those efforts.

[00:35:12]

So what we're seeing is Pheu Thai now forming an alliance with two military-backed parties, something that they had said that they wouldn't do during campaigning.

So it will be interesting to see the reaction, certainly from the youth, who had voted overwhelmingly for more progressive policies, more progressive parties.

So at this point, it's -- it remains to be seen what kind of reaction there will be.

When it comes to Thaksin returning to Thailand, there have been some supporters who have shown up at the airport to welcome him back. He is now heading to the court and will be seen in the court. There is a conviction of corruption charges, which holds up to about ten years in prison, that he will be facing.

It will be interesting to see how much, if any, he actually serves in person -- Laila.

HARRAK: Paula Hancocks, reporting from Seoul, thank you so much.

Still to come, Human Rights Watch accuses Saudi border guards of killing hundreds of Ethiopian migrants. You'll hear harrowing accounts from the survivors, next.

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HARRAK: Donald Trump has announced on social media that he plans to turn himself in at the Fulton County Jail in Georgia on Thursday. His lawyers have agreed to a $200,000 bond for the former president, and Trump's release conditions prohibit him from communicating, directly or indirectly, with his 18 codefendants, witnesses, or unindicted coconspirators, or use social media to target them.

Well, Trump has been indicted on 13 felony accounts in the 2020 Georgia election subversion probe. Several of his codefendants have also agreed to the terms of their bond agreements with the district attorney's office.

Human Rights Watch claims Saudi authorities have killed hundreds of Ethiopian migrants crossing the border from Yemen. CNN's Salma Abdelaziz has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A deeply disturbing report released on Monday by Human Rights Watch alleges that Saudi border guards killed at least hundreds of Ethiopian migrants and asylum seekers attempting to cross the border from Yemen into Saudi Arabia between March of 2022 and June of this year.

The more than 70-page report, again, released by Human Rights Watch, is based, the organization says, on interviews with more than 40 individuals, some 38 of them themselves migrants, asylum seekers who attempted to cross the border.

Human Rights Watch says it also conducted a review and assessment --

ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): -- of some 350 pieces of video and imagery, and also assessed extensive satellite images from the region.

[00:40:05]

Together, Human Rights Watch says that this work --

ABDELAZIZ: -- found or paints a pattern of widespread and systemic violence by Saudi border guards against groups of migrants, Ethiopian migrants and asylum seekers attempting to cross into Saudi Arabia, again, from Yemen.

The accounts are absolutely harrowing.

ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): More than two dozen individuals describing explosive incidences, so the use of rockets, mortar fire, gunfire by Saudi border guards. Some survivors describing Saudi border guards asking them which limb they would prefer to be shot before shooting them at close range.

ABDELAZIZ: To give you an understanding of just how deadly these crossings are, according to Human Rights Watch's findings, its work again, interviews with ten individuals who were describing multiple crossings that totaled some 1,200 individuals trying to cross that border. Of those 1,200, 655 resulted in death. That is less than a 50 percent survival rate, again, according to Human Rights Watch's work.

Now, Human Rights Watch says that, if these killings are committed as part of an intentional Saudi government policy to murder migrants, it could amount to a crime against humanity.

We do also have a statement from an anonymous Saudi source. This is a source that requested anonymity, citing long-standing norms around the government's communication with the media. But this is what the statement from the Saudi official, from the Saudi government source says.

"The allegations included in the Human Rights Watch report about Saudi border guards shooting Ethiopians while they were crossing the Saudi- Yemeni border are unfounded and not based on reliable sources."

Now, the route I'm describing, known as the Eastern route, essentially connects the Horn of Africa across the Gulf of Aden, and then sees migrants, asylum seekers cross into Yemen, and eventually try to get to Saudi Arabia.

That is among the most dangerous routes in the world. It has been for many, many years, but it has come under increased scrutiny in recent years, with the conflict in the Tigray region forcing many vulnerable families out, and civil war in Yemen making that place ever more hostile.

Human Rights Watch says that the violence along that Yemeni-Saudi border region is ongoing.

Salma Abdulaziz, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRAK: Russia is blaming engine failure for its Lunar 25 spacecraft crashing into the Moon. It was their first attempt to reach the Moon in 47 years, but the craft spun out of control and crashed into the lunar surface.

Russia said it had lost contact with the craft over the weekend. A special commission will investigate what happened.

The failed mission underscores the decline of Russia's space program since the Cold War.

I'm Laila Harrak. WORLD SPORT starts after the break.

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